Katrin Juliet Cartlidge (15 May 1961 – 7 September 2002) was an English actress. She first appeared on screen as Lucy Collins in the Channel 4 soap opera Brookside (1982–1983), before going on to win the 1997 Evening Standard Film Award for Best Actress for the Mike Leigh film Career Girls. Her other film appearances included Leigh's Naked (1993), as well as the films Before the Rain (1994), Breaking the Waves (1996), and From Hell (2001).
Early life
Cartlidge was born in London, to Derek, an English father and Bobbi, a German-Jewish refugee mother. She was educated at the Parliament Hill School for Girls in Camden.
Career
Cartlidge's work in the Milcho Manchevski film Before the Rain (1994) and in No Man's Land (2001) made her well known in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Balkans. Her first leading role was playing Sophie in Mike Leigh's Naked (1993). Cartlidge worked in two more Leigh films: in Career Girls (1997) she played one of the lead roles, Hannah, at the ages of both 20 and 30, and in Topsy Turvy (1999) she was a madam in a Paris brothel. She was due to play the lead role in Polish director Lech Majewski's 2004 film The Garden of Earthly Delights—that of an art historian dying of cancer—but she left shortly before production began. Cartlidge won a role in 21 Grams but was replaced by Charlotte Gainsbourg due to her death. Cartlidge was also filming Dogville at the time of her death and was replaced by Patricia Clarkson.
Death and legacy
Cartlidge died at the age of 41 on 7 September 2002, of complications arising from pneumonia and septicaemia caused by a pheochromocytoma.
Mike Leigh wrote: "She took to the improvisation and character work instantly, easily and with extraordinary commitment and imagination. Other than in the Royal Court Young Peoples Theatre, she had had no formal training, but you would never have guessed it. (Drama Centre London turned her down, and that put her off). [...] She often talked to me about [a] move into directing. I am in no doubt that we have lost not only one of our greatest actors but also one of the most interesting new directors of the future."
Following her death, British singer Morrissey dedicated a performance of his song "Late Night, Maudlin Street" at the Royal Albert Hall to Cartlidge, describing her as a "brilliant person and fantastic actor".
Tracy Letts dedicated his 2003 play Man from Nebraska to Cartlidge, stating "Man from Nebraska is dedicated to the memory of my dear friend Katrin Cartlidge".
thumb|upright|right|Katrin Cartlidge in Nightlife TV film (1996)
Filmography
Film
{| class = "wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Director
! Notes
|-
| 1985
| Sacred Hearts
| Doris
| Barbara Rennie
|
|-
| 1987
| Eat the Rich
| Katrin
| Peter Richardson
| The Comic Strip feature film
|-
| 1993
| Naked
| Sophie
| Mike Leigh
|
|-
| 1994
| Before the Rain
| Anne
| Milcho Manchevski
|
|-
| 1996
| Merisairas
| Elena Polakov
| Veikko Aaltonen
| Alternatively titled "Seasick"
|-
| 1996
| Breaking the Waves
| Dodo McNeill
| Lars von Trier
| Bodil Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role <br />Robert Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
|-
| 1997
| Career Girls
| Hannah Mills
| Mike Leigh
| Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Actress <br />Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress <br />Nominated — European Film Award for Best Actress
|-
| 1998
| Claire Dolan
| Claire Dolan
| Lodge Kerrigan
| Nominated — Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead
|-
| 1998
| Hi-Life
| April
| Roger Hedden
|
|-
| 1999
| data-sort-value="Lost Son, The" | The Lost Son
| Emily
| Chris Menges
|
|-
| 1999
| Topsy-Turvy
| Madame
| Mike Leigh
|
|-
| 1999
| data-sort-value="Cherry Orchard, The" | The Cherry Orchard
| Varya
| Michael Cacoyannis
|
|-
| 2000
| Hotel Splendide
| Cora Blanche
| Terence Gross
|
|-
| 2000
| data-sort-value="Weight of Water, The" | The Weight of Water
| Karen Christenson
| Kathryn Bigelow
|
|-
| 2001
| No Man's Land
| Jane Livingstone
| Danis Tanović
|
|-
| 2001
| From Hell
| Annie Chapman
| Hughes Brothers
|
|-
| 2010
| Dimension
| N/A
| Lars von Trier
| Unfinished
|}
Television
{| class = "wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
| 1982–83, 1990
| Brookside
| Lucy Collins
| Soap opera • 51 episodes
|-
| 1986
| data-sort-value="Collectors, The" | The Collectors
| Beattie Haycock
| Season 1, Episode 7: "The Dog It Was..."
|-
| 1987
| Bulman
| Rose
| Season 2, Episode 7: "Ministry of Accidents"
|-
| 1988
| data-sort-value="Comic Strip Presents..., The" | The Comic Strip Presents...
| Maria
| Season 3, Episode 6: "Funseekers"
|-
| 1993
| data-sort-value="Chief, The" | The Chief
| Liz Williams
| Season 3, Episode 3: "A Long Cold Lonely Winter"
|-
| 1994
| Capital Lives
| Carole
| Season 1, Episode 6: "Repossessed"
|-
| 1996
| Screen Two
| Lover in Cafe
| Episode: "Look Me in the Eye"
|}
Television films and short works
{| class = "wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
| 1993
| Kolinsky
| Unknown role(s)
| Short film
|-
| 1994
| Normandy: The Great Crusade
| Clara Milburn
| Television short
|-
| 1994
| Nobody's Children
| Viorica
| Television film
|-
| 1994
| Fever
| Claire
| Short film
|-
| 1995
| 3 Steps to Heaven
| Suzanne / Candy / Billie
| Television film
|-
| 1995
| Narance
| Manya
| Short film
|-
| 1996
| Nightlife
| Robin
| Television film
|-
| 1996
| Saint-Ex
| Gabrielle de Saint-Exupéry
| Television film
|-
| 2000
| Cinderella
| Goneril
| Television film
|-
| 2001
| Sword of Honour
| Julia Stitch
| Television film
|-
| 2002
| Crime and Punishment
| Katerina Ivanovna
| Television film
|-
| 2002
| Surrealissimo: The Scandalous Success of Salvador Dali
| Gala Dali
| Television special
|-
| 2002
| Eddie Loves Mary
| Unknown role
| Short film • posthumous release
|}
References
External links
- Career Girl: Tribute to Katrin Cartlidge
- Remembering Katrin Cartlidge